“Madam Cassandra, a moment of your time?” John asked. It had been three days since the Harc’otti attack and the first chance he had to speak with her.

He had wanted tensions in Ember Creek to relax before making a decision. Part of that was to make sure the barbarians didn’t return. Another was to give people time to grieve. Tobias and the man with the arrow wound to the gut had both died during the short encounter. And both men had families.

Both had also been rescued from Jacob, so neither family had much time together before they were forced to grieve for the loss of their husbands and fathers a second time.

Despite the deaths, there had been an uptick in people willing to help out. The attack was a wake-up call to the townsfolk. Anyone with a gun now wanted to help with the watch patrols. Not everyone was qualified for something like that, but he was letting the Sheriff handle the details there.

When the older man wasn’t drunk, he was rather good with people. Far more so than John.

“Certainly, John. Is this a private discussion?” He gave the saloon owner a single nod. “Very well, follow me.”

As they entered the Silken Riches, she walked over to her bartender. “Ricardo, Dear. Please have one of the girls take over for me while I have a conversation with my guest.”

“Anyone in particular, Miss C?” the man asked, putting down the glass he had been polishing.

The madam tapped a well-manicured finger to her lips in thought. “Francine has been looking for more responsibility. As long as she isn’t with a customer, she would be perfect.”

“I will let her know.”

“Thank you, hun.”

The well-dressed bartender hurried off and up the stairs to the second floor where he disappeared down a hallway. “A drink while we wait?” Cassandra asked as she slipped behind the bar.

“Sure. Thank you. Whiskey, neat.”

“Mhm,” she purred as she expertly poured a shot of rich brown alcohol into two glasses.

John quirked an eyebrow at this.

The matronly woman smiled. “One for you, and one for me. I can’t let my guest drink alone now can I?”

John chuckled. “I won’t say no to having a drink with a beautiful woman.”

She smiled at the compliment, and unlike some people John had known, her smile was genuine. The two nearly finished off their drinks just as Ricardo and the young girl, Seline had spoken to the day before, descended the stairs.

The girl looked slightly frazzled, but Cassandra walked over to her and whispered something into her ear. The girl nodded in embarrassment before plastering a fake smile on her face and heading outside.

“Thank you again, Ricardo. John, shall we?” He downed the last of his glass before standing and following the woman into a back office that looked to double as her home.

“You should count yourself lucky, John. It isn’t every day I invite someone into my home.”

“I would never accuse you of such a thing,” he stated as he removed his hat.

She waved him to a seat at a small table and she sat opposite him. The dining table seemed to double as her office desk as it was cluttered with leather-bound notebooks and writing utensils.

“So, John, are you here to sweep me off my feet?”

If she thought the joke would ruffle him, she was wrong. He chuckled. “Not today, but who knows.”

The woman didn’t miss a beat. She let out a long exaggerated sigh. “Oh if I were young again. Words like that might make me swoon.”

John smiled. “I think you’re perfect just the way you are.”

“Such a flatterer, John.”

“I actually came to ask if you could take over the foreman’s duties for a time.”

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“Me?” she asked, a little surprised.

“Sure.”

She paused to think about his offer. “I probably could, it’s not like Frederick was all that intelligent, so the job couldn’t be all that difficult. But I somehow get the feeling you aren’t telling me something.”

John had hoped to keep this part to himself, but the woman needed to know to do her job effectively.

“You’re right, I haven’t. You can’t tell anyone what I’m about to tell you. If you did, the town would riot.”

“John…”

“Yes, Cassandra?”

“I’m the Madam of a brothel. I assure you I can keep a secret.”

“Ah right… Wait, what about when I first met you with Seline?”

She chuckled at that. “That girl falls in love too easily. She needed to be reminded of who and what Henry was. Besides, if there was a single person in town not aware of their dalliance, it was you.”

Not seeing any reason to stall further, John told her what happened. “Jacob made off with all the gold and actual valuables stored in the mining office.”

“I see,” she stated, her finger stopping its rhythmic tapping on the table. “So the money that our dear Daniel has pumped into the city is worthless?”

John nodded.

“I suppose I’m not surprised.”

“You're not?” he asked.

She smirked. “That man’s plan was bound to fail one way or another. It’s a good thing I’ve spoken to people around town and we’ve taken steps to alleviate any possible issue that might occur.

“Well… now I just feel stupid.”

She looked at him quizzically.

“I thought I was going to have to kickstart the town's economy with only this.” He reached into his vest and set the bag of diamonds on the table. Then he motioned for her to have a look.

She popped open the bag and her eyes glimmered. “While diamonds are truly a girl’s best friend, I doubt this would have gotten you far.”

“I realized that, but I didn’t take into account the city having its own failsafe in place.”

“You don’t trust many people, do you you, John? Is that because of what you used to be?”

He leaned back in the chair. “And what would you know of my past?” he asked, genuinely curious. It's not like he kept his past a secret, he just didn’t advertise it either.

“Mostly rumors and hearsay,” the woman shrugged slightly. “But I think we both know how much to trust those. I would much rather hear the truth from you.”

Now it was his turn to take time and decide. “Are you sure you wish to know? It’ll likely change how you view me.”

“John, I have met some of the most rancid people you could imagine who pretend to be upstanding individuals. Your boss comes to mind there. I have also met some people who are shunned by society and turned out to be some of the kindest people you could imagine. I treat people the way they treat others. And from everything I’ve seen of you, you fall into that latter category.”

He chuckled. “I don’t know how I feel about being lumped in with outcasts, but I’ll take it as a compliment. Very well. Are you familiar with the old Irtishian Empire?” He started his story at the beginning, leaving no dirty details out.

There was no point, if she were curious enough, she could find out or purchase history books that spoke of the atrocities carried out during the war, by both sides. Those atrocities were ultimately started by the Irtishian Empire, the place he lived, and the place that conscripted him into their army.

Back then, you didn’t get a choice to join or not. You either joined or found yourself face down in a shallow grave as the conscription forces went from house to house and rounded up the healthy men of fighting age.

John was one of the lucky ones, he wasn’t conscripted until two years after the war had been raging on in the next kingdom over. Had he been one of the early conscripts, like his older brother, he would likely have joined his sibling in death during those first two years.

Even with conscription, the Empire was losing the fight. Until one of their scientists created the serum. As a fresh batch of soldiers, his entire Battalion – a full thousand men and even some women – had been dosed with the experimental concoction. Over half died from it within the first two weeks. The remaining survivors were beaten, tortured, and humiliated all in the name of ‘training’. It was nothing short of indoctrination though, and it worked.

John should know, he was one of those it worked on. Like an eager hunting dog, he along with the rest of his surviving battalion tore through the enemy army, changing the tide of battle in less than a month.

Of course, that was when the rest of the kingdoms got involved.

“Wow,” she said, after hearing his tale. “May I ask, how old were you when they plucked you from your home?”

He had to think about that, it had been nearly two hundred years. “Sixteen, maybe close to seventeen.”

"And now you hardly look a day over twenty-five,” she murmured. “Hard to believe you’re old enough to be my great-grandfather.”

He squirmed uncomfortably at the mention of his age. It was always disconcerting to be reminded he was significantly older than everyone around him. Especially when it came from someone he was interested in.

She must have picked up on his discomfort. “And here I thought I was robbing the cradle,” she said with a wink and a smile.

“So it doesn’t make you feel weird?”

“I’ve lived a long life. And while I would appreciate you not spreading this around, a woman has to have her secrets,… I’m nearly forty-five.”

John wasn’t the best when it came to judging age, but he could have sworn the woman was in her mid-thirties at most. “You don’t look a day over thirty-five,” he admitted.

“You’re sweet, thank you. And no, your age doesn’t bother me. It was a bit of a surprise for sure. But when I think about it, I’ve witnessed eighteen-year-old girls marry ninety-year-old men. Some for money, some for family obligations. But we’re not getting married, and I somehow doubt you’re planning to fall in love with me. I say we enjoy each other's company while it lasts.”

“I would very much like that,” John said with a smile. “But about what I originally came to ask?”

“Oh, right. We did kind of get off track. As long as it doesn’t last for more than a few months, I should be able to take over those duties.”

“Thank you, Cassandra.”

“Call me Cassi, at least when it’s just the two of us.”